Tag Archives: neighborhood revitalization

Through the combined efforts of Florida Citrus Sports in partnership with Lift Orlando, Florida Blue, and the Polis Institute, the West Lakes MVP Families program is seeking to engage families in the West Lakes Community. Program objectives include assisting students with college acceptance and scholarships, developing community leaders, strengthening the bonds between parents and children, connecting families with other families, and setting and achieving family goals.

Once a month, leading up to the MVP summer camp next summer, a dinner will be prepared for and West Lakes MVP Families program participants. Child care will be provided, allowing space and opportunity for meaningful discussion among the adults in a holistic approach to community transformation. Meetings take place the second Monday of the month at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Community Center (3000 C.R Smith St. Orlando, FL 32805) from 6:30-8:30pm.

We must learn to express ourselves and respect others voices if we hope to live in healthy and vibrant places. Diverse Word, the longest running open-mic night in Orlando, houses everything from performance poetry to stand-up and improv comedy. This night is and always will be FREE (though donations are accepted and appreciated to help fund our quarterly slam competitions and features).

We must learn to express ourselves and respect others voices if we hope to live in healthy and vibrant places. Diverse Word, the longest running open-mic night in Orlando, houses everything from performance poetry to stand-up and improv comedy. This night is and always will be FREE (though donations are accepted and appreciated to help fund our quarterly slam competitions and features).

Through the combined efforts of Florida Citrus Sports in partnership with Lift Orlando, Florida Blue, and the Polis Institute, the newly established MVP Families program is seeking to engage families in the 32805 neighborhood. Program objectives include assisting students with college acceptance and scholarships, developing community leaders, strengthening the bonds between parents and children, connecting families with other families, and setting and achieving family goals.

Once a the month, leading up to the MVP summer camp next summer, a dinner will be prepared for and by MVP Families program participants. Child care will be provided, allowing space and opportunity for meaningful discussion among the adults in a holistic approach to community transformation. This month’s meeting will be on Monday, May 7th, 2018 at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Community Center (3000 C.R Smith St. Orlando, FL 32805) from 6:30-8:30pm.

Polis Institute designs solutions to social problems by valuing the perspectives of everyone with a stake in addressing the problem. We serve our three stakeholder groups (Residents, Investors, and Service Providers) in a parallel process —as facilitator— in order to achieve goals that bring the greatest benefit to those directly impacted by the issue, often the local residents.

In 2015, Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issued a statement that “a child’s life expectancy is predicted more by his ZIP code than his genetic code.” In the United States, the 12th richest country in the world, there are neighboringZIP codes that have a 20-year difference in life expectancy. That should give everyone pause. It should make us all ask why this is the case … and then move to do something to change it.

The most common factor in neighborhoods with relatively lower life expectancy is lower than average income levels. Low-income neighborhoods tend to have less healthy amenities (e.g. bike paths, sidewalks, access to fresh produce, parks, and exercise facilities), while also having more conditions that are antagonistic to health (e.g. factories, traffic, brownfields, and crime). Add to that mix the fact that opportunities for advancement are often stymied through chronic stress, overly restrictive housing and employment policies, and underperforming schools for the next generation.

“In the United States, there are neighboring ZIP codes that have a 20-year difference in life expectancy.That should give everyone pause.”

And yet, these very neighborhoods are filled with people fully aware of their dignity and worth; people with talent and passion whose gifts are far too often neglected or ignored. This costs all of us something. This is precisely why place-based philanthropy is so vital — we need the people who live in these neighborhoods to be a part of strengthening our cities and making the world a better place.

Through the combined efforts of Florida Citrus Sports in partnership with Lift Orlando, Florida Blue, and the Polis Institute, the newly established MVP Families program is seeking to engage families in the 32805 neighborhood. Program objectives include assisting students with college acceptance and scholarships, developing community leaders, strengthening the bonds between parents and children, connecting families with other families, and setting and achieving family goals.

Once a the month, leading up to the MVP summer camp next summer, a dinner will be prepared for and by MVP Families program participants. Child care will be provided, allowing space and opportunity for meaningful discussion among the adults in a holistic approach to community transformation. This month’s meeting will be on Monday, April 2nd, 2018 at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Community Center (3000 C.R Smith St. Orlando, FL 32805) from 6:30-8:30pm.

Through the combined efforts of Florida Citrus Sports in partnership with Lift Orlando, Florida Blue, and the Polis Institute, the newly established MVP Families program is seeking to engage families in the 32805 neighborhood. Program objectives include assisting students with college acceptance and scholarships, developing community leaders, strengthening the bonds between parents and children, connecting families with other families, and setting and achieving family goals.

Once a the month, leading up to the MVP summer camp next summer, a dinner will be prepared for and by MVP Families program participants. Child care will be provided, allowing space and opportunity for meaningful discussion among the adults in a holistic approach to community transformation. This month’s meeting will be on Monday, March 5th, 2018 at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Community Center (3000 C.R Smith St. Orlando, FL 32805) from 6:30-8:30pm.

In May 2017 we began a mid-month MVP Families gathering for our MVP parents to focus on in-depth family goals and for the kids in our program to receive tutoring opportunities. We’re excited to be a part of this resident-led program and to help families in 32805 meet their academic, financial, and health and wellness goals.

Mid-month meetings are located at the POLIS office (1123 W. Conroy Street, Orlando, FL 32805) and happen from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. A light dinner is typically provided. If you’re interested in attending and live in the 32805 area, please contact us via shawn @ polisinstitute [dot] org.

Through the combined efforts of Florida Citrus Sports in partnership with Lift Orlando, Florida Blue, and the Polis Institute, the newly established MVP Families program is seeking to engage families in the 32805 neighborhood. Program objectives include assisting students with college acceptance and scholarships, developing community leaders, strengthening the bonds between parents and children, connecting families with other families, and setting and achieving family goals.

Once a the month, leading up to the MVP summer camp next summer, a dinner will be prepared for and by MVP Families program participants. Child care will be provided, allowing space and opportunity for meaningful discussion among the adults in a holistic approach to community transformation. This month’s meeting will be on Monday, February 5th, 2018 at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Community Center (3000 C.R Smith St. Orlando, FL 32805) from 6:30-8:30pm.